


Laying Down the (Common) Law

by avalonjoan



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caretaking, Injury, Las Vegas Aces, M/M, NHL, Samwell didn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 10:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8051983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avalonjoan/pseuds/avalonjoan
Summary: Kent's just had his ACL repaired, and Jack's trying to balance looking after his boyfriend and making it to practice.  Coach Bouchard has a few thoughts on what Jack's priorities should be.





	Laying Down the (Common) Law

Jack slipped into the strategy meeting, taking a seat in the back and trying to take up as little space as possible.  He was never late, but Kent had needed help getting to the bathroom, and then more Percocet, and then something to eat to keep the Percocet from upsetting him stomach.  Jack had, of course, gotten up earlier to give himself time to handle everything, but by the time he got Kent settled back in bed, there was no way he was making it to practice on time.

"Alright boys,” Coach Bouchard said as the session wrapped up, “See you on this ice in twenty.  Zimmermann, can I have a word with you?"

He hadn’t expected to fly under the radar—not when he was half an hour late—and he’d spent the drive in preparing an apology. "I'm sorry, sir, there's no excuse for my being late like—“

"Hey, slow down,” Coach interrupted, putting his hands up. “I wasn't expecting you to be here at all today." Jack stared at him, brow furrowed, and the coach went on, “Seeing as Parson’s surgery was yesterday.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

Coach laughed and shook his head. "Geez, kid. I don’t know what things were like back in Providence, but let me give you an idea of how we run things here.” He put an arm around Jack’s shoulder and walked him out of the conference room. “Last season, Swoops’ wife had to have her appendix out, and Kesh's kid went to the hospital with pneumonia. They were both out for a few days—I think Swoops even missed a game.”

Stopping by the stairs that led down to the ice, Coach smiled at Jack. “Now, I know you don't have a wife or a kid, but if you spend the day making sure Kent takes it easy, I guarantee you, no one on this team is gonna have a problem with it.”

"Oh." Jack nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Keep him off that leg, alright?” Coach clapped Jack on the shoulder before starting down to meet the team. 

* * *

 

Jack opened the door as quietly as possible, figuring Kent would still be knocked out from the morning’s Percocet, but as soon as he stepped into the entryway, he heard an excited greeting from down the hall.

"Jackie!  What are you doing home?" Dropping his bag, Jack stuck his head in the bedroom, and, finding Kent missing, made his way to the kitchen. Kent was balancing on his good leg, using one crutch for support while clumsily spreading peanut butter over a slice of bread.   He turned enough to grin at Jack. “Everything okay, babe?”

"What are you doing out of bed?" Jack came up behind Kent and wrapped his arms around him.

"I got hungry.  Seriously, why aren’t you at practice?"

Kissing Kent’s neck, Jack replied, "So, Coach Bouchard basically called you my wife and send me home to look after you."

Kent laughed, his head falling back against Jack’s shoulder. “Really?” He put down the butterknife he was holding and pressed his hand to Jack’s thigh, sliding up toward his crotch. His voice had a playful lilt to it as he went on, “Since we’ve got this extra time together, maybe I should take care of some ‘wifely duties.’” He squeezed Jack’s cock through his jeans, and Jack gasped.

“You’re ridiculous,” Jack said breathily, putting his hands on Kent’s waist. He made sure that Kent was stable before he stepped to the side, leaning on the counter and looking at his boyfriend head-on. “Go put your leg up—I’ll finish this.”

He gestured at Kent’s attempt at a PB&J, picking up the knife while Kent gathered his crutches and moved out of the way. While Kent made his way into the living room, Jack fixed Kent’s half-assembled sandwich, which had small smears of peanut butter haphazardly on both slices of bread--at least the narcotics seemed to be helping his pain. Seeing as Kent had forgotten to actually get jam out of the fridge, Jack called out to see what kind he wanted.

“If we still have that really good strawberry one, that—if not, whatever,” Kent shouted back, his words starting to slur together. Jack smiled and found the container in question, finishing up his boyfriend’s mid-morning snack. Carrying the plate into the living room, he carefully set it down on the coffee table near Kent, who was sprawled out on the couch, eyes closed.

Five years ago, Jack would have been terrified at an implication like Couch Bouchard’s. The rumors about them from Juniors had largely dissipated in the public eye; he and Kent were adults now, with careers far more interesting than their personal lives. Neither of them had come out, but when Jack got traded to the Aces after two years in Providence, it had gotten harder to hide. They shared an apartment, never brought women around, and always happened to leave the bar together after a night out with the team. Still, no one said anything, no one asked, and that was good enough for them.

But now, if acknowledging the unspoken truth about their relationship got him a few more hours with Kent and his freshly-repaired ACL, Jack wasn’t going to fight it. Crouching beside Kent, Jack ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. He smiled as Kent opened his eyes and made soft whining sounds. “Come on, sleepyhead,” he said, “Food first, then you can go back to sleep.”

“Come with me?” Kent asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

“I have the day off—of course I’m gonna spend it in bed with you.”

 

 


End file.
